media update’s Aisling McCarthy chatted to Gala-Holten about her appointment.

How does it feel to be appointed as the deputy managing director?

I started here in 2006, so really, it was a long term goal that I had envisioned. I knew I wanted to work with the team and grow with this agency, so it’s a huge achievement.

When I started at Joe Public, I had just become an account director. At the time I joined, Joe Public was quite a different place – we were smaller, and didn’t work with some of the client we work with today. So it’s been a great opportunity to grow with the team and to be a part of contributing to the growth of the agency.

What do you plan to achieve in your new role?

Immediately, there is still quite a lot to be done – the balancing act of still playing an integral role with supporting account management and maintaining the relationships with my clients.

There are a number of things that I want to work on, specifically the growth of our people. I feel, especially as a black female, that there aren’t that many of us in the industry, so I’m really going to be focusing on mentorship and the growth of black females.

Then I want to focus on contributing by growing my own skills. We’ve got huge aspirations for the agency over the next few years. So it’s really supporting the executive team in trying to achieve those and wanting to be the number one agency in 2020, so we’ve got lots to do.

Your new role involves working with Gareth Leck on above-the-line from a business perspective. Tell us a bit about what it’s been like working with him and what you’ve learned from him so far?

Through the years, I’ve had more of a micro approach to what I do, looking after my clients and everything that goes with that. But now, it really is about growing into a role and learning the macro picture.

It’s now becoming big-business oriented – it’s about making sure what is good for the client, is also good for the agency. We’re no longer just an above-the-line agency, we’re an integrated agency.

The first step is learning from Gareth the management of running an agency and all its facets. I hope to learn and grow around the group role as well by looking at how we complement each other and compliment the clients – because we know that our aspirations, as an integrated agency, are to be able to offer the full service.

I think over the next couple of years I’ll also be learning about what he does from a bigger-picture perspective – I’m learning about the macro-vision and the macro-role.

How would you describe your management style?

I pride myself on the fact that I have literally grown in the industry having started as an account executive. I understand everybody’s role, and that brings a lot of knowledge, experience, and empathy. I give people the opportunity and space to do their best and always give assurance of support. I also have nurturing nature and enjoy working with my team

How important is it to have women, and especially black women, represented in important positions within the industry?

I think it’s critical. Diversity is critical in any business in order to bring the different facets that exist –whether that is from race, background, or gender. I think in advertising it’s even more critical because there’s not enough of us and, therefore, there is a bit of a vacuum of bringing in those nuances to the industry itself. I believe we need to be accelerate bringing more black females into the industry and environment we work in and, ultimately, impact the world we live in.

It’s time. It’s over time.

For more information, visit www.joepublic.co.za

Interested in what the Joe Public staff are up to? Read more in our article, Joe Public’s Xolisa Dyeshana joins The One Club Board